SEVEN STARS - THE OKINAWA BATTLE DIARIES of Generals Simon Buckner and Joseph Stilwell. An in-depth exploration of the art of leading troops in one of biggest land-sea-air battles the world has ever seen.

Edited by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes.
The battle for Okinawa was a pivotal event in World War II and has the distinction of being the single bloodiest conflict in the history of the United States Navy. This book is an in-depth exploration of the art of leading troops in such a battle.

"The morning was uneventful, except for a visit from Gen. Bruce (77th INFANTRY DIVISION) and Rear Adm. Kiland who is taking him to his objective. Bruce, as usual, is rarin' to go and is looking well ahead for action. I much prefer a bird dog that you have to whistle in to one that you have to urge out. He is of the former
variety."óLt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., March 20, 1944

"Buckner is tiresome. I tried to tell him what I had seen, but he knew it all. Keeps repeating his wise-cracks. 'The Lord said let there be mud,' etc. etc."__Gen. Joseph Stilwell, June 5, 1944 Battle diaries are essential for understanding what generals are thinking as they work their way through the fog of battle.

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes juxtaposes the diaries of two very different generals who both fought at Okinawa: Lieutenant General Buckner, a by-the-numbers man who favored the use of artillery and tanks to reduce entrenched positions, and General
Stilwell, a prickly outsider who preferred maneuver to set-piece battles. Sarantakes identifies individuals, includes explanations of important events alluded to by the generals, and provides glossaries of main characters and military terms. The result is a record of how Buckner and Stilwell came to grips with the problems of command on a war-torn island at the end of a long logistical tether.

With the background information provided by Sarantakes, the diaries of these men become accessible to the reader. Buckner is the more restrained, a Southern gentleman whose career was
average and whose diary entries are interspersed with letters to his wife. He shuttles between forward command posts and shipboard conferences, noting how much rain has fallen, how many enemy have been killed, and how many aircraft shot down.

Stilwell is a self-styled outsider, a brilliant warrior with the social graces of a porcupine. He dislikes Buckner and has little patience for his irreverent humor. Stilwell's entries are peppered with frank and often acrid observations abouteverything and everybody. He dismisses the British as "hoggish, inconsiderate" Limeys and atomic scientists as "temperamental bugs."